


Territorial

by whitehorsetiger



Series: Pack Dynamics [14]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Lance (Voltron), Alpha Shiro (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Hunk (Voltron), Beta Pidge | Katie Holt, Established Relationship, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Omega Keith (Voltron), Pack Dynamics, Territorial Behaviour, instincts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22979692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitehorsetiger/pseuds/whitehorsetiger
Summary: Territorial behaviours are present across all the secondary sexes, although how strong they are can vary wildly from person to person, regardless of secondary sex. While these behaviours are usually weakest among betas, this is not an effective determining factor. A more accurate method of predicting how territorial a person will be is to look at their upbringing. A pup raised among a large familial group with a variety of secondary sexes are usually the least territorial, but this is not a guarantee. Teaching a child from a young age how to recognize and deal with their territorial behaviour, and the territorial behaviour of others, is the only way to prevent it from becoming a problem later in life.The Voltron Pack and their experiences with territorial behaviour
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Pack Dynamics [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1154111
Comments: 14
Kudos: 331





	1. Shiro

**Author's Note:**

> Notes will be at the end of the fic

_Territorial behaviours are present across all the secondary sexes, although how strong they are can vary wildly from person to person, regardless of secondary sex. While these behaviours are usually weakest among betas, this is not an effective determining factor. A more accurate method of predicting how territorial a person will be is to look at their upbringing. A pup raised among a large familial group with a variety of secondary sexes are usually the least territorial, but this is not a guarantee. Teaching a child from a young age how to recognize and deal with their territorial behaviour, and the territorial behaviour of others, is the only way to prevent it from becoming a problem later in life._

****

** Shiro **

**One**

Learning to share his space with another person had been… difficult for Shiro. He was an only child, so was very used to having his own space. This meant he did have a bit of a territorial issue. He had seen far worse, but he was unintentionally overprotective of his space. It had dampened a little while he had been forced to share a room, but had reared its ugly head again recently.

“Ah man,” Adam said, cracking his neck, “You have no idea how much crap you’ve accumulated until you’ve got to move it.”

“You don’t say,” Shiro said, dropping the box he was carrying onto the living room floor.

“Well, gave me a good excuse to clean out anyway.” Adam shrugged, a light smile on his face.

Shiro’s heart skipped a little at that look. Maybe this could work out. Adam had been in his bedroom many times before, they’d been dating quite a while—hence moving in together—so it should be alright. Shiro could stomp down those slightly frustrating territorial feelings and make this work.

He was fine, unpacking all of Adam’s stuff caused no reaction, even in the bedroom. He could manage. In fact, Adam’s small smile when he took in the scent of Shiro’s room made him feel all warm inside. It was only a Garrison flat anyway, Shiro shouldn’t be feeling all protective over it.

Everything was going so well; they’d had take-out, snuggled together, and watched TV. Adam had ranted a bit about the annoying kids in his class and how he couldn’t wait to become a full-blown teacher. Shiro knew he was wearing a dopey smile the whole time, but he didn’t care.

Things fell apart when they went to turn in for the night. Everything was fine until they reached the bed. It was stupid; Shiro knew it was stupid. They’d slept together before, even without having sex first, so it shouldn’t have bothered him. The second Adam reached for the covers though, Shiro let out an unintentional growl. Adam blinked, before staring up at him.

“Was that—” he started, but Shiro cut him off.

“I am so sorry! I didn’t mean…”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Adam said, smiling slightly, “It happens.”

“But I shouldn’t,” Shiro groaned, “I can’t believe I just did that.”

Adam laughed, shaking his head. “You’d think after all the time we spend together.”

Groaning again, Shiro buried his face in his hands. “I know.”

A hand rested on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

“You know I’m not offended, right?” Adam said, still laughing slightly, “It’s a normal thing.”

“You’re not helping,” Shiro grumbled, before letting out a sigh, “I’ll get over it.”

“I know,” Adam said, pressing a kiss to his cheek, “You still want me here or?”

“I won’t get over it if you coddle me,” Shiro grumbled lightly.

“Come on,” Adam said, clambering into bed before Shiro could think anymore, “I’ll let you be the little spoon.”

And who was Shiro to protest that.

**Two**

The second he stepped into his apartment, the hairs on the back of Shiro’s neck stood up. There was an omega in his flat. Why was there an omega in his flat? He didn’t know any omegas well enough to invite them over, and neither did Adam.

A small growl began to sound out of his throat, Shiro more than ready to charge in and throw whoever it was out. Luckily, Adam intercepted him before he could get anywhere.

“It’s Keith,” Adam said, resting a hand on Shiro’s chest.

“What’s Keith?”

Adam rolled his eyes. “That omega you can smell? He presented, remember?”

Oh. Ohhhh! Shiro’s eyebrows went up. In his hazy state, Shiro had completely forgotten that Keith had presented. Shaking his head and rubbing his temples, he let out a harsh breath.

“Yeah, I should’ve realised,” Shiro said, “How’s he doing?”

Adam sighed. “Bad, I was just about to go get some stuff for dinner, just waiting for you to get home. Didn’t really want to leave him alone.”

Shiro nodded. “Yeah, I’ll, see what I can do.”

Shiro hadn’t dealt with any newly-presented people since his own presentation, and even then he didn’t really have to deal with others much. This was a new experience. Well, he could probably bullshit his way through.

“Hey,” Shiro said as gently as possible.

It was a little frustrating how he had to intentionally ignore his need to assert his territory. It was just Keith, it shouldn’t matter than he’d presented. His stupid animal brain though couldn’t connect Keith’s old scent to his new scent.

“Hi,” Keith croaked, turning towards Shiro.

Oh boy, he looked rough. Large, incredibly dark bags under his eyes. Hair a complete mess, skin much paler, and he just radiated pure exhaustion. Small was never a descriptor he would use to describe Keith—even when he had been younger and shorter—but huddled up in a blanket on the sofa, shivering slightly, there wasn’t really any other word he could use.

“Rough time?” Shiro asked.

He sat himself down, careful not to brush against Keith. Even though the only thing he wanted to do was gather him up in his arms and protect him from the world, Shiro knew he was probably incredibly sensitive and would not appreciate it.

Keith grunted, hitching the blanket up so it covered his head like a hood. That was answer enough.

“That bad huh? I remember my first rut—god, it was horrible—they get better though,” Shiro said.

Keith turned and glowered at him.

“Well that makes me feel so much better,” he grumbled, “Thanks, it’s not like you have to go through a rut every three months.”

Shiro let out a long breath. Alright, Keith was not in a ‘willing to be comforted’ mood. Not yet anyway. Shiro clicked on the television, clicking through the movies. He landed on Keith’s favourite movie—although Keith would deny it to his dying day—an old cheesy romance. Keith hunkered down a bit more, burying his face in the blanket.

Shiro let out a long breath as he smelt the change in Keith’s mood, from misery to more relaxed. It took a little while, but Shiro was relieved he managed to at least ease a little of Keith’s tension.

“You know what,” Shiro said, “I’m going to make tea, do you want some tea?”

Keith looked up at him, nodding. Shiro let out a long breath, making his way to the kitchen. Alright, this was different, but Shiro was sure he could manage it.

**Plus One**

Earth. There were many times where Shiro thought he would never return to the planet he called home. They were here now though, so close and yet so far. News that the Galra had invaded hit everyone hard, even Keith, who had almost nothing tying him to Earth anymore. Although Shiro had a feeling Keith was not thinking about himself.

Shiro never thought he’d be so relieved to see the Garrison again. It was some sense of normalcy among all the craziness. Something they all desperately needed. There wasn’t a dry eye among anyone. Then Shiro heard something he never thought he’d hear again.

“Shiro?”

Turning, his eyes landed on.

“Adam.”

He really looked worse for wear, then again Shiro couldn’t really talk. Everything inside him was screaming to go to him, wrap Adam up in his arms and never let go. Shiro didn’t really have that right anymore though. He just… didn’t know where they stood anymore.

“Adam!” Keith called out, raising his hand.

Adam’s face broke into a painfully familiar smile, he held out a hand.

“Hey, long time no see,” he said.

Adam’s eyes widened as Keith pulled him into a hug, letting out a weak laugh.

“Missed you too,” he said, “When all this madness is over, you’re going to have to tell me what the hell happened.”

“Will do,” Keith smiled, “Won’t we?”

He shot a look at Shiro, who was really tempted to hit him upside the head. No way in hell he could comment on Shiro’s love life when he was the one staring longingly at Lance.

Adam shot Shiro a look—a long, searching look. He really wished he had the answers, but Shiro doubted it. He could only hope he could smooth some things over.

****

Saving the planet had been complete chaos, and there were several moments where Shiro swore his heart stopped. Those moments when Lance’s comm went dead and after that when they lost contact with the whole team, well at least Shiro had already gone white so he couldn’t go grey from the stress.

Everyone was still alive, thank goodness, although a little worse for wear. Now though, Shiro had no excuse to not talk to Adam. Which is why he found himself awkwardly hovering outside his room.

“You know, knocking is usually a good first step.” Shiro jumped slightly as Keith’s voice sounded from behind him. “You can’t clear things up if there’s a door in the way.”

Shiro turned, glaring at Keith. His eyes flicked down to the other man, taking in his more relaxed state. He’d certainly matured, changed, but in the end, he was still the same person. He was also carrying two plates with something interesting looking on them.

Keith noticed where Shiro was looking and sighed.

“Lance was complaining about the hospital food, so I said I’d get him something from the cafeteria, not that the food is much better there. But, when I said what I was doing Hunk decided he was making us all dinner.”

“Well look at you, doting all over an alpha,” Shiro said, smirking.

“Shut up,” Keith grumbled, rolling his eyes, “What can I say, I’m worried about him.”

Shiro let out a long breath. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s fine, starting to get a little frustrated at being kept in the hospital,” Keith sighed.

Shiro nodded. After the incident on the way to the Lions, followed by the fight with the rouge Altean, Lance had come out of it much worse than the other paladins. He would be fine, just needed some more time in the hospital. Lance was not happy about this.

“Anyway, we’re not talking about Lance, we’re talking about you,” Keith said, raising an eyebrow, “You should knock.”

Shiro let out a huff of breath. “I don’t think he wants to talk to me.”

Keith shot him a look, before rolling his eyes. Shifting around the two dishes, he knocked on the door.

“Keith! What the hell!?” Shiro whisper-hissed.

Keith shrugged and walked away, smirking. The door opened and Shiro was face-to-face with Adam.

“Shiro,” Adam said.

“Adam, hi,” Shiro said, voice cracking embarrassingly.

They stared at each other, Adam’s eyebrows raised. Shiro kind of wanted to run, he was not going to though. If _Keith_ could get his love life together, Shiro could do this.

“I wanted to, ah, talk?” Shiro said, voice losing confidence at the end.

Adam scanned him up and down, before nodding and stepping back.

“Come in then.”

Shiro swallowed, before stepping over the threshold.

It wasn’t their apartment, of course it wasn’t. Then again pretty much all the apartments looked the same. Even though Adam was a beta, the flat was saturated in his scent. He was encroaching on the other man’s territory. Shiro had hoped he’d hit the point where nothing felt like he was out of his depth. How wrong he was.

“Well, start talking,” Adam said, crossing his arms.

So Shiro did, sinking to sit on the sofa and he just talked. He hadn’t told anyone the full story, the Garrison didn’t need to know everything and anyone he would have wanted to tell already knew. It took a long time, there was a great deal to tell. Adam was incredibly attentive though, only interrupting when he needed clarification for something. Eventually he reached the end of the story, he may have left something out, but right now it didn’t matter.

It felt like forever before Adam spoke, his brain very clearly sorting through all the information he had just been given.

“So, you’re a clone?” Adam frowned.

“No,” Shiro said, “Allura merged my and the clone’s consciousness into this body.”

Adam blinked, frowning in confusion. “So you and the clone are the same person now?”

“Sort of. It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Shiro said, laughing awkwardly.

“Really? Because it sounds pretty damn complicated,” Adam said, shaking his head, “And you died? Like, three times.”

“Technically I only died once,” Shiro corrected, holding up one finger.

“That doesn’t make it better,” Adam sighed, “I said space would be the death of you.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, it was then Shiro realised just how tired Adam looked.

“It’s good to see you again,” Shiro said, “I missed you.”

Adam let out a long breath. “I missed you too, but, I…”

“I know,” Shiro said, “I’m not asking for anything from you. I just wanted to explain.”

Adam let out a long sigh, but his scent shifted into something more welcoming. At the very least, Shiro no longer felt like he was invading Adam’s territory, more like he was allowed to be there. It was a start.


	2. Lance

** Lance **

**One**

Growing up with his family meant Lance was used to not having that much privacy; it was a given really. So when he went to the Garrison and presented as an alpha, he had much less trouble sharing his room than some others. Lance was never really much of a territorial alpha anyway, which was really advantageous.

Even when he started living in the Castle and had a space all to himself, Lance still didn’t develop the ‘traditional’ alpha territorial behaviours. He was fine and relaxed with anyone just waltzing into his room any time. After Shiro vanished, everyone seemed to take a turn wandering into his room, even Keith a few times. Lance supposed this was because he was now the de facto leader of the pack, being the only alpha. He tried to avoid thinking about that though, ignoring it for as long as he could.

As it turned out, his territorial feelings weren’t towards his room. It came as a bit of a surprise. Blue shutting him out had been a devastating blow; Lance couldn’t believe how much it hurt when Allura came flying out in Blue. Blue was _his_ girl.

As he stood in front of Blue, Lance knew he had to let her go. It was hard though. His mind was screaming at him that Blue was his, his space, his territory, he shouldn’t have to give her up. Letting out a huff of breath, Lance rubbed his temples. He needed to get a grip and let Blue go. This was bigger than his own petty territorial feelings.

Handing over the blue bayard was difficult too. Lance could only hope it would give him the closure he needed. Luckily he had the distraction of Keith doing something monumentally stupid to stop him having to think about it.

Even after returning to the Castle, Lance was too busy comforting Keith to even begin to consider his own feelings. So it wasn’t until he was in bed that night he was forced to confront them, and not even by himself.

“Hey man,” Hunk said, as Lance’s door slid open, “You doing alright?”

“Yeah, sure, I mean, why wouldn’t I be?” Lance replied, tilting his head to one side.

Hunk wandered over, dropping himself down to sit beside Lance on his bed.

“Well, we’ve had a bit of a rough time,” Hunk said.

Lance huffed out a breath. “Yeah, I’m good though.”

“Really, you’re good with giving up Blue?” Hunk asked, frowning a little.

“I mean sure, Allura’s going to do great with her,” Lance said, trying to wave it off.

“Lance,” Hunk said, “Come on, man, I know if I had to give up Yellow I would be devastated.”

“It’s just the right time you know?” Lance said, his voice starting to shake, “Sure it was a little devastating when she shut me out and I was a little hurt when Allura came flying out in her… and… and…”

Lance’s words broke down into sobs as everything came crashing down on him. All his emotions had the opportunity to break out and now there was no chance in stopping them. Hunk immediately squished Lance into a tight hug, allowing him to sob on his shoulder, his hand running up and down Lance’s back.

Lance liked Red, although he’d only flown her twice. He liked how responsive the controls were and the speed. She wasn’t Blue though. He’d get through this though; he knew he would. For now though, it was fine for him to cry in Hunk’s arms.

**Two**

Lance was thoroughly sick of the Garrison. Seriously, if he had to spend one more moment here he would scream. He was just… tired. Tired of being ignored. Tired of being doted on by people who didn’t give a single damn about him before Voltron. Tired of Iverson STEALING HIS BOYFRIEND AWAY RIGHT WHEN THEY PROMISED TO SPEND THE DAY TOGETHER. But most of all, Lance was tired of being told he wasn’t allowed to go anywhere; that he was confined to Garrison grounds. Like some sort of criminal.

Well, the Garrison could kiss his ass, as Lance had a record of sneaking out and a huge, sentient, robot cat on his side. Red was all for them sneaking out and going for a fly and, as Lance’s plans for the day had been ruined, there was no better time.

No one even noticed as he snuck out—someone probably noticed him taking off in Red, but there was nothing they could really do about it.

Lance knew where he wanted to go, but at the same time he knew he really didn’t want to go there. Red began sending him some reassuring vibes, trying to calm him down. Over the time they’d flown together, Red and Lance had come to understand each other, enabling them to work together really well. It also enabled them to be what the other needed.

“Okay, Red,” Lance said quietly, “Let’s go. I need to see.”

He gripped the controls firmly as they flew over the familiar, yet unfamiliar, land. The Galra had done a real number on this area. Lance dreaded to think what he would find when he reached where he was going.

He landed a small distance off from his destination—the chances of someone stumbling across the Red Lion were very slim. His family had owned a large area of land, the house bang smack in the middle. So, even if the Galra hadn’t invaded, the chances of someone stumbling across his Lion would have still been incredibly low.

Lance didn’t know what he was expecting, but the house being reduced to nothing but rubble was just about it. He stood on the small rise behind the house, looking down at the remains. It had really been flattened. Slowly, Lance began to make his way towards it, staring at the mess. There was a pain in his chest, a steady throb spreading through him.

The small stone garden wall had survived better than the rest of the house, so Lance plonked himself down on it, staring at the ruins. He just… couldn’t look away… couldn’t stop the tears starting to run down his face.

How long he sat there, Lance didn’t know. Long enough for the sun to rise high and someone to come looking for him.

“Lance!” The shout drew Lance’s attention away from the rubble.

Keith was half-jogging down the hill towards him. He looked… well, he looked a little furious.

“Lance! What the hell were you thinking?!” Keith half-yelled at him, “You can’t just take off like that!”

Lance shrugged, eyes going back to the rubble, and said, “I knew you’d find me.”

It was true, even though Lance had not planned on spending enough time out for people to come looking for him, he knew Keith would find him. After all, although it was weak, Keith still had a connection with the Red Lion just as Lance still had a connection with Blue.

“Sorry,” Lance sighed, “I didn’t mean to spend so much time out here. I just needed to get away.”

Keith let out a long breath, settling himself beside Lance. He was taking a few steadying breaths, clearly trying to calm himself down. Lance would feel bad for worrying him, but right now he was just feeling numb.

“Do you really hate the Garrison that much?” Keith asked. He reached over, sliding his fingers between Lance’s and giving his hand a squeeze.

“I don’t hate it. I just don’t like being trapped there. I needed to get away. I really didn’t mean to stay away for so long. Sorry.”

Keith hummed, rubbing his thumb over Lance’s knuckled.

“I get it,” he said, “But you should have at least told someone.”

“They would have tried to stop me,” Lance said quietly, “I planned to be there and back before anyone noticed.”

“Did you really think no one would notice?”

“You’d be surprised.”

Keith huffed, before turning and pressing a kiss to Lance’s neck.

“So, was this…?” Keith asked, trailing off awkwardly.

“I thought maybe,” Lance started, faltering slightly before continuing, “Maybe because it was in the middle of nowhere it would be alright. Turns out I was wrong.”

“I’m sorry,” Keith murmured.

“It’s okay. I’m sure we can… I mean, we can rebuild.”

Keith reached over, cupping Lance’s cheeks and forcing him to look at Keith, breaking his complete focus on the rubble.

“Hey,” Keith said quietly. Leaning forwards, he gently pressed their lips together. “It’s going to be okay,” he murmured, rubbing their noses together.

Keith stood up, tugging Lance to his feet. He turned, walking towards the rubble. Lance fought the urge to growl. It was stupid. Why was he getting overprotective over a pile of rubble? Perhaps because it was still, sort of, his home.

Shaking his head to try and get it functioning again, Lance stepped forwards and grabbed Keith’s hand. Tugging the other man forwards, Lance stepped carefully on the rubble. Picturing his house’s layout in his mind, Lance led him over to an area.

“Well, this was once my room,” Lance said, gesturing.

Keith smiled. “Well, I’ve seen nicer.”

Lance gave an over exaggerated huff. “That’s just rude.”

Chuckling softly, Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck, pressing their lips together. He pulled away slightly, their lips still almost touching.

“I’ll have to show you around when we’ve rebuilt,” Lance said quietly.

“Yeah?” Keith mumbled back, “I’ll hold you to that.” Keith pressed another kiss to his lips, before gently knocking their foreheads together. “We should head back,” he said, pulling away, “People will worry.”

Lance sighed. “They probably didn’t even notice I was gone.”

“The people who matter did,” Keith said quietly, “Come on.”

Keith began to tug him back up the hill, towards the Lions. Shooting one last, longing look, at the rubble, Lance allowed Keith to pull him along. It was fine, he would be fine.

**Plus One**

Lance was kind of hungry—check that, he was _really_ hungry. He’d ended up missing breakfast and now it was way past lunch too. No problem. Unlike before, Lance didn’t have to sneak into the kitchen to grab some food. They’d managed to claim one of the small kitchens, especially as it had some unusual alien—read: potentially dangerous—supplies.

Opening the kitchen door, Lance was suddenly hit with a wall of scent. It was not a welcoming one, and even more surprisingly it belonged to Hunk. Lance didn’t think Hunk had a single territorial bone in his body, but maybe he was wrong. Lance didn’t even want to step into the kitchen the scent was so powerful.

Hunk suddenly appeared from behind the counter.

“I told you, you can’t—oh… Lance,” Hunk said, “Come on in.”

“Um, are you sure, dude?” Lance asked, glancing around.

“Sorry,” Hunk sighed, “I had to stink up the place, at least until I teach everyone how to use the alien ingredients. There have been far too many accidents.

“Oh, yeah, I remember the purple thing. Going through it once was enough.”

“Exactly, we’ve been through the test phase,” Hunk said, “We don’t need to go through another one. But, some people just won’t listen, so I’ve had to stink up the place to keep them out.”

“Makes sense,” Lance agreed, taking a few hesitant steps into the kitchen.

It still didn’t feel welcoming, no matter what Hunk said.

“I know you missed breakfast and lunch,” Hunk said, “So, I saved you something!”

Hunk pulled something out of the fridge, setting it in front of Lance. Over their short time on Earth, Hunk had learnt how to mix both Earth and alien foods to make the best tasting things he possibly could. This looked to be no exception!

“I think they’re setting up a flat for us to stay in,” Lance said, sitting down to eat, “With a private kitchen.”

“Oh, sounds so good,” Hunk sighed wistfully.

Taking a forkful of food, Lance nodded, then hummed, eyes slipping closed in pleasure, as the flavour melted over his tongue.

“This is good,” Lance said.

Hunk grinned. “Knew you’d like it.”

Lance smiled brightly. “You know me all too well.”


	3. Pidge

**Pidge **

**One**

Pidge was unusually territorial for someone who had not yet presented, and that had her parents incredibly worried on how she would be _after_ presenting. All they could hope for was for her to be a beta and not change that much. Pidge snorted; that wasn’t how it worked. Besides, she had to be territorial to stop Matt from TOUCHING HER STUFF.

“MATT, WHAT THE HELL!” Pidge shouted, flinging herself down the stairs.

Bae Bae began to bark excitedly, scrambling to her feet and chasing after Pidge.

“Katie, don’t run in the house,” her mom scolded, poking her head around the kitchen doorway.

“Matt’s been touching my stuff again!” she grumbled, crossing her arms.

“Yes, but that’s no reason to run in the house.”

Pidge huffed, but slowed to a walk, stalking off in search of her brother.

Matt was not hard to find; their house was not all that big. It was also not difficult to tackle him to the floor.

“What did I say about going into my room?!” Pidge shouted, jabbing him in the side.

“Ow! Pidge! What the hell!?” Matt shouted back, trying to wriggle free.

He was having no luck.

“What did I say about going into my room?!” Pidge said, continuing to jab him.

“Owwww! Not to!”

“Then why did you?” Pidge demanded, “Why did you move my stuff?!”

“Katie! Matt! What is going on!” their dad yelled, storming into the room.

“Matt went in Katie’s room again!” their mom shouted from the kitchen.

“Did not!” Matt protested.

“Did so!” Pidge grumbled back.

“Matt, what did we say about intentionally provoking Katie?” their dad said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Not to,” Matt grumbled.

Pidge shot him a smug look.

“And, Katie, you know that’s not how we deal with people invading our territory.”

“But he moves my stuff! I have a system!”

“In that mess?”

“You don’t know the system!”

“Kids!” their dad shouted, finally having had enough, “Just, stop provoking each other and deal with your feelings better okay? No more fighting and no more moving each other’s things around, okay?”

Both of them glowered and looked away.

“Fine,” they both grumbled.

Yeah, okay, maybe Pidge did need to learn how to handle her territorial feelings better. It was just so frustrating, but fine. It was fine. She could work this out.

**Two**

The Castle Ship was incredible; if she had her father and brother with her it would be pure heaven. There was so much to look at, so much to do, and everyone in the pack seemed to be showing some form of respect for her territory. Most of the time anyway.

Pidge had presented as a beta very early, most likely brought on by her spending so much time around older, presenting peers. Her territorial instincts hadn’t dampened in the slightest though; the only change was she had learnt to control them better.

The hanger for the Green Lion was ‘her’ space, even more so than her room—although both were very important to her. The others seemed perfectly content honouring this, only ever coming in if they wanted to speak to her. Although that was not always the case.

After Shiro vanishing and the Lion-swap, Pidge was spending more time in the Green Lion’s hanger. She had to find Shiro, she had to find her brother and father, there was just so much to do. All of this had left everyone more snappish, forcing them all to stick to their own territories. So Pidge was not expecting her door to slide open.

“Hey,” Lance said, standing in the doorway, “Mind if I come in?”

Pidge was tempted to say no, to grumble him out of the room. Lance looked incredibly rough though, bags under his eyes, slumped, and just generally looking exhausted. He also stank of distress—not his own distress, he’d clearly been spending time with Keith. Pidge just couldn’t deny him looking that pathetic.

“Sure, come on,” she said, “Just don’t touch anything.”

“Yeah, I know the drill,” Lance said, slumping down beside her, “Sorry to bother you, I just, needed to get away a little.”

Pidge smiled slightly. “Oh yeah, believe me, I get it.”

Lance leant back on his hands, and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence.

They sat together for a while, neither bothering the other as Lance sat thoughtfully and Pidge worked on some new tracking technology. Eventually though, Pidge grew sick of working, turning to look at Lance. He was staring off into space, eyes dropping a little with exhaustion. Pidge was not good with words, but he was really bringing the mood of her territory down.

“You doing alright?” she asked, leaning her chin on her hand.

Lance blinked, turning to her.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, shaking his head.

Pidge raised her eyebrows, Lance sighed.

“I’m just tired,” Lance said, “Sorry, am I bothering you? I can go?”

“No, no you’re fine,” Pidge said, “I don’t mind.”

There was a long gap in the conversation, but it wasn’t too uncomfortable. Although Pidge was still a little on edge for letting Lance into her territory.

“How’s the search going?” Lance asked softly.

Pidge sighed, looking down at her hands. “It’s not going. I just… I can’t find anything past the fighting ring. Everyone is either dead, not talking, or a prisoner we haven’t rescued yet. I’ve been working on updating the scanners but it’s slow going. On a happier note, my Altean is improving.”

Lance chuckled, tilting his head to one side. “I suppose that’s something.”

“I think I need Hunk to help me with the mechanical part,” she said, “Problem is he’ll mess up all my stuff!”

“Ah,” Lance said, laughing, “Yeah, make sure you hide anything private, better than you did your diary.”

Pidge buried her face in her hands, shaking her head. Lance reached out and patted her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, you’ll learn,” Lance said, “There are some secrets of mine he doesn’t know about!”

Pidge raised her eyebrows. “Oh really.”

“No,” Lance said, “I’m not telling you.”

“Oh, come on!” Pidge said, grinning, “You can’t leave me hanging like that.”

“Err, yes, I can,” Lance replied, crossing his legs, “I can’t tell you guys everything!”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

Lance punched her shoulder, causing her to fall sideways with a bark of laughter.

They laughed together for a little while, but Pidge really was curious as to what was going on with Lance, what secrets he was keeping. She would respect his privacy though, no matter how tempting it was to pry.

They fell back into silence for a bit, shifting so they were leaning against each other.

“How’s Keith doing?” she asked quietly.

Lance let out a long, exhausted sigh. They were all worried about the new team leader, who was just about holding it together but wasn’t letting any of them help him. Except Lance, which she supposed made sense, what with his instincts and his very obvious crush on the other boy.

“Better,” Lance said, “Not that he’s _good_ yet, but better.”

“Good,” Pidge muttered, “That’s good. Has Hunk stopped stress-baking yet?”

Lance nodded. “We have enough treats for the rest of time though.”

“Well at least something good came of this mess.”

Lance snorted, leaning slightly heavier against her side. Now she thought about it, Pidge was really starting to feel sleepy.

“Well, we haven’t tasted them yet, remember the cookies?”

“How could I forget the cookies?”

The two of them leant more heavily against each other, their talking shifting to more nonsensical noises than actual words.

An hour later, when Hunk went looking for the two of them. He found them curled up together on the floor of the Green Lion’s hanger, fast asleep. He sighed in relief, both of them were not getting enough sleep. He would leave them be for a little while.

**Plus One**

Lance was not particularly territorial—Pidge had learnt that pretty quickly. With both him and Hunk, you could pretty much wander into anywhere and he wouldn’t be too bothered by it. It proved useful at times, not having to worry about tiptoeing around social decorum and trying to work out what counted as territory and what didn’t, which it was much harder than it sounded.

Pidge, therefore, had no qualms charging into Lance’s room. He usually didn’t mind and right now he certainly wouldn’t mind. There’s no way he would believe what she had been able to find. She couldn’t wait to play this game with him!

“Lance, you would not believe—” Pidge started, but was cut off by a growl.

She froze, never having heard Lance growl at her before. It sent a shudder down her spine and a little jolt of fear. Not that she would _ever_ admit that too him. A split second later, Lance seemed to have realised what he’d done.

“Oh god, Pidge, I am so sorry,” he said, looking over at her.

Okay, she really should have knocked, having very clearly interrupted a make-out session between Lance and Keith. Luckily, they didn’t seem to have got much further than shirts off, thank you.

“What do you want, Pidge?” Keith grumbled, clearly a little rattled at being interrupted.

Oh, that was interesting, Keith getting more territorial over the area than Lance. Keith’s frown deepened even more when Lance pushed at his shoulder, forcing him to move away so Lance could sit up.

“What’s wrong?” Lance asked.

Pidge faltered, but she had already interrupted so she might as well carry on.

“Look what I got a hold of!” she said, holding out the game, “It was released while we were away.”

Lance launched himself off the bed, looking at the game in her hand. Keith was not amused, glowering at Lance’s back.

“No way,” Lance cheered, “Oh man, we have to play this!”

“Hell yeah we do!” Pidge bounced on her feet. “I can ask Hunk to make some snacks. We can grab blankets and—”

“Gaming marathon,” Lance finished her thought, “Although is it a marathon if you’re only playing one game?”

Pidge frowned for a second, before nodding. “Yes.”

“Excellent—” Lance started. A pointed clearing of a throat interrupted him.

The two of them turned to look at the bed, to Keith sat there with his arms crossed. Lance’s eyes went wide, Pidge raised her eyebrows. Had he seriously forgotten Keith, who was sat right there, scent unblocked, who he was literally making out with minutes before. Wow.

“Oh, Keith,” Lance stammered, “I, um.”

Keith huffed out a slight laugh, shaking his head with a small smile. His scent shifted to something more welcoming—Pidge had been ignoring the unwelcome feeling she was getting from him. It was pretty much gone now though, Keith having relaxed somewhat.

“Don’t worry about it,” Keith said, sliding off the bed, “I have some stuff to do anyway, it’ll be nice to relax and watch you after though?”

“You’re welcome to,” Lance said. Pidge nodded in agreement.

“Alright,” Keith said, grabbing his shirt and pulling it on, “I’ll see you later then.” He pecked Lance lightly on the lips before leaving the room.

“Wow,” Pidge snorted, “I can’t believe you forgot about Keith.”

Lance groaned and rubbed his face. “I know, I’m still getting used to it.”

“No, you’re just really scatter-brained,” Pidge replied.

Lance huffed slightly.

Pidge smiled. “I’ll get the snacks. You set up a pillow fort?”

Lance nodded. “You got it.”

The two of them left Lance’s room, setting off in different directions to collect their supplies.


	4. Hunk

** Hunk **

**One**

Hunk had never been one for territorial behaviour. _Ever_. He’d just never had the instincts for it. It actually proved to be very useful; not having to worry about that sort of thing just made life so much easier. Going to the Garrison had completely erased any chance of territorial behaviour developing too. His room there wasn’t really his, nowhere really worth defending.

He supposed the Castle became their territory—the territory of the Voltron pack. Maybe Hunk did get a little protective over it, but it wasn’t until they returned to the Garrison that Hunk felt the first sparks of territorial behaviour.

The kitchen was bad enough, nothing in there could _kill_ a person, but they could cause some nasty side effects. Hunk just really wanted to avoid more accidents. When the Garrison started invading his workshop though, now that really started to annoy him. He was perfectly fine teaching them about alien technology, about all the things he had found out. What he was not happy with was them coming in when he wasn’t there and tinkering with things.

“Hey, Hunk, do you mind—” Keith started, stepping into the room, “Woah, are you okay?”

Hunk turned to look over at Keith—Keith’s nose was wrinkled, a tablet in his hand, the look on his face the same as Lance’s when he’d walked into the kitchen the other day. The face of walking into an unwelcome territory.

Hunk groaned, burying his face in his hands.

“I’m fine. They’ve just been tinkering with my stuff again,” he grumbled, moving some things around.

“Really?” Keith frowned deeply, taking a few more steps into the room. “Damnit, I keep telling them to keep out, or at least to ask.”

“It’s alright,” Hunk sighed, “there’s only so much you can do. Do you think I’d get into trouble if I built a lock so they couldn’t get in?”

Keith shrugged. “They wouldn’t be able to get in. What could they do?”

Hunk snorted. “I just don’t want them to break anything.”

Keith nodded. “Yeah, I get it, I’ll try have a talk with them, but you might want to get working on that lock.”

“Thanks, man.” Hunk smiled, checking through everything to make sure nothing had been damaged or moved.

“No worries,” Keith replied, smiling lightly.

“Now, what were you after?”

Keith blinked, before tapping on his tablet again. “Oh yeah, I came here for a reason, didn’t I?”

**Two**

It wasn’t the Castle Ship, but their small group apartment was so much nicer than all of them being stretched out all over the Garrison. It also stopped people wandering into the kitchen and trying to cook with the alien food. There was also something slightly more relaxing about having a private area to themselves—their pack.

After a long day, it was nice to go back to their territory. Hunk had a rough time of it most days, trying to teach some of the engineers how to work with alien technology. It was much more difficult than it should be. They didn’t seem all that happy to either let go of their Earth engineering or let Hunk teach them. All it did was leave everyone frustrated.

The door slid open to something Hunk wasn’t expecting. Not only was everyone already there, but there was the smell of something cooking from the kitchen.

“Hunk!” Pidge called from the sofa, “You’re alive!”

“Hurray!” Shiro added.

“We had to resort to Lance cooking!” Pidge said, “Lance!”

“Hey!” Lance’s voice protested from the hidden kitchen, “Do you want to come in here and finish? You think you can do better? Or I could just stop and you could wait for Hunk to cook something?”

“No!” Shiro shouted suddenly, “Shut up, Pidge, I’m starving!”

Hunk smiled, kicking off his shoes and moving further in. He peered around into the kitchen, where Lance was stirring something in a pot, Keith attached to his back.

“Smells good,” Hunk said, sitting himself down on the breakfast bar.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t use anything alien,” Lance laughed, “Don’t quite trust myself with that yet.”

“I’m sure you could manage,” Hunk said.

Lance pulled a face. “I don’t think so, there’s no way I’m risking it with them all badgering me for food.”

“We were hungry!” Pidge protested.

“So hungry!” Shiro added, wriggling a little.

“Absolutely starving,” Allura agreed.

Lance snorted, rolling his eyes.

“I didn’t even know you could cook,” Keith said, resting his chin on Lance’s shoulder.

“Oh yeah,” Hunk said, “He’s pretty good.”

“You’re better,” Lance replied.

Hunk huffed out a breath. “You’re also too lazy to cook for yourself.”

“That as well,” Lance said, smiling.

“Hunk,” Allura called, “Do you want to pick a movie?”

Smiling, Hunk swung himself off the bar stool.

“Sure,” he shrugged.

Flicking through the available movies, Hunk settled on a rather mindless action movie. It wasn’t his favourite, but he knew everyone would enjoy it. Pidge tossed him a blanket as he relaxed back into the cushions. The sofa wasn’t the most comfortable in the world, but it was honestly a relief to get off his feet.

Unlike the one they’d had in the Castle Ship, there wasn’t one long sofa for them all to sit on. Instead they all had to crowd onto two sofas and some armchairs, not that they minded. It was comfortable, them all together in their territory, allowing them all to finally relax.

**Plus One**

“Keith?” Hunk called, knocking lightly at the door, “Keith? You doing alright buddy? I made brownies.”

The door slid open, revealing Keith laid out on his bed. Hunk hesitated to step inside; he knew Keith could be a little territorial and didn’t want to start a fight, especially as Keith was already a little upset.

“Hunk, I’m fine,” Keith sighed, propping himself up on his elbows, “Lance has been away for four days. I can manage without him for that long.”

“So… you don’t want a brownie?” Hunk said, wafting them so the smell would reach Keith.

Keith paused and blinked, before frowning. “I never said that,” he muttered.

“Right,” Hunk replied.

“Because I do want a brownie.”

“Right.”

“But not because I’m sad Lance is not here.”

“Sure.”

“I just want a brownie.”

Hunk walked into the bedroom, sitting on Keith’s bed and offering him the plate.

“This has nothing to do with Lance,” Keith said, grabbing one and shoving it into his mouth, “Absolutely nothing. I just like brownies.”

Hunk nodded, before Keith sighed.

“It’s kind of pathetic right?” Keith muttered, “It’s only been four days, how can I miss him already?”

“There’s nothing wrong with missing someone,” Hunk said, “Besides, it’s really stressful here.”

“Yeah,” Keith said, shaking his head, “Goddamnit.”

“Another brownie?” Hunk suggested, holding up the plate.

Keith shot him an amused look, but took one all the same.

“Do you want a hug?” Hunk asked, “I am pretty good at them.”

Keith snorted. “So I heard. And yes please.”

Keith muttered the last part. Hunk didn’t hesitate to put the plate down, before crushing him into a hug. Keith tensed for a second, before relaxing in Hunk’s arms.

“Thanks, Hunk,” Keith said quietly.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. We’re a pack, we look out for each other.”

“Right,” Keith murmured into his shoulder.


	5. Keith

** Keith **

**One**

Keith wouldn’t describe himself as a territorial person. He certainly wasn’t before he presented and after he was at the Garrison, not really a place to class as one’s own territory to protect. Especially as he wasn’t a big fan of his roommate. So no, Keith did not think he was territorial. Turns out, he was wrong.

Keith was not expecting to pick up unwanted passengers when he went to rescue Shiro. Honestly he wasn’t expecting to find Shiro at all. He had been a bit worried it was a hopeful hallucination, brought on by Keith’s self-imposed isolation. He probably needed to go out and talk to people, but that was a whole different matter.

Anyway, he ended up with some unwanted passengers, although they did prove reasonably useful; not that their contribution couldn’t be done by a seatbelt, but Keith didn’t have one of those, so he couldn’t really complain. The real issue came when they reached his shack.

He didn’t want to let them in. This was his shack, his home, the place he’d lived with his father. He didn’t want these strangers going in there. Fighting back the urge to grumble, Keith pulled Shiro off his bike, supporting him relatively easily. Lance came around to support Shiro’s other side. Keith wanted to snap at him, to say he could manage Shiro perfectly well on his own. It did make carrying him a little easier though, so Keith kept his mouth shut.

Keith also couldn’t just leave them outside either, so he fought back his urge to chase them away and led them into his shack. He and Lance carried the unconscious Shiro into his dad’s old room, it was a little dusty, but it would do until he woke up.

He glanced over at Lance, trying to jog his memory. Keith had paid very little attention to the other kids at the Garrison, but there was a vague memory of Lance, not much, but enough to know he was a bit of a loudmouth and a little annoying. So this whole finding him kind of cute thing needed to stop.

The two of them made their way back to the living room, where the other two students had made themselves comfortable on Keith’s ratty sofa. They were chatting to themselves quietly and Keith wasn’t all that sure what to do now. All he knew was the sooner he got them out of his shack, the better.

**Two**

Keith collapsed forwards, flopping over Lance’s chest. It was kind of gross, but Keith didn’t care. He and Lance had been busy; this was the first time they’d been able to have sex in ages and Keith wanted to _bask_ , damnit.

Lance’s post-sex scent had to be one of his favourite things in the world; Keith could just not get enough. He nuzzled into Lance’s neck, making a soft happy noise. Lance hummed in response, turning to press a kiss to Keith’s temple. Then his hand shifted down, grabbing a handful of Keith’s ass.

“Really?” Keith let out a huff of a laugh, “You didn’t get enough before?”

“Never,” Lance said quietly, “I’ll never have enough. I’m very greedy when it comes to you.”

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Keith buried his face in Lance’s shoulder. “I missed you,” he muttered, “I really missed you.”

Cupping under Keith’s chin, Lance tilted his head up so they locked eyes. “I missed you too,” he said, pressing their lips together gently.

After Lance had come home from helping his family rebuild their house, which had been a whole month, Keith had been too busy to give him a proper welcome. It had been another couple of weeks before they were able to see each other in more than just passing. Keith had missed the hell out of him, so he’d taken the first opportunity he could to drag Lance into bed.

There was a knock at the door, Keith whipped around to growl. Who the hell dared to interrupt them? Who was trying to invade their territory?

“Um, Keith,” Shiro called through the door, I… ah…”

“You should probably—” Lance started.

Keith made an angry noise, swinging himself off the bed. Grabbing Lance’s robe and throwing it on, Keith stalked to the door and slide it open.

“What?” Keith snapped, “You better have a damn good reason for interrupting.”

Shiro was blatantly not looking at Keith, kind of awkwardly shifting from foot to foot.

“Some of the MFE pilots wanted to train with you,” Shiro said, “They asked me to ask you to head down.”

“Let me guess, one of them is Griffin?” Keith sighed. “Hasn’t he had enough?”

“Apparently not, and he brought friends,” Shiro replied.

“Tell them no, I’m busy,” Keith said, crossing his arms.

“Keith, you really should,” Lance called from the bed.

“No, no way in hell,” Keith said, “I’m going to spend the whole day catching up with my alpha, so if anyone asks you to bother us, the answer is ‘no.’”

“By catching up, do you mean—” Lance began.

Keith cut him off, “Yes I mean sex, but they don’t need to know that.”

“Alright, alright,” Shiro said, “I didn’t need to know that. I’ll let everyone know not to bother you.”

“Perfect.” Keith smiled, stepping back to let the door close.

He turned to look back at Lance, hitting the lock for the door and dropping the robe. Lance grinned, reaching out. Keith strode across the room, scrambling onto the bed and into Lance’s arms.

“Can’t believe you’re giving up training for me,” Lance said, pulling Keith right against his chest.

Keith pressed their lips together. “I’ve been training enough.”

Lance fake-gasped, “Who are you and what have you done with my health-nut boyfriend?”

“Shut up,” Keith grumbled, rubbing their noses together.

Lance began to press gentle kisses all over Keith’s face, before moving to nip his lip.

“Hey,” Keith said quietly, “Do you fancy sharing a room in the new castle?”

Lance blinked, eyes flicking over Keith’s face.

“I mean, I practically spend all my time in your room anyway,” Keith explained, “And at least this way, if we’re busy we’ll at least be spending some time together.”

Lance nodded. “Yeah.”

“Yeah?” Keith asked.

“Yeah.” Lance smiled.

Making a happy noise, Keith pressed their lips together, starting to purr.

**Plus One**

Keith was nervous, although his nerves had nothing on his mother’s. After all, Keith had actually met Lance’s family before. This was a little different though. After returning from space, after defeating Haggar, there were celebrations all around. Lance had gone home to his family, to their rebuilt home. Keith had spent some time with his mother, the Blade of Marmora, and the other Galra, trying to bring some peace to the ruined empire.

Finally though, Keith had the chance to come back and he was immediately heading for Lance’s house with his mother. Lance had offered to stay and help Keith, but he had insisted the alpha had to go home.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to come?” Krolia asked, peering out of the window of the pod.

“You were invited,” Keith said, checking his coordinates.

“Yes, but, what if they were only doing it to be polite?” she continued.

Keith looked at her, raising an eyebrow. Cosmo barked from the back.

“You know they’re all really nice people?” Keith said, “I’m sure you’ll get along fine.”

Krolia made an unsure noise, leaning on her hand. Keith was a little hesitant too. His mother was not an easy person to get to know and she could come off as a bit standoffish. Hopefully, Lance’s family could get her to open up before they had to go back to space.

Keith landed the pod on the drive, looking at the new house. It was pretty damn impressive and just rather pretty too. Hopping out, Keith patted Cosmo’s head as the wolf teleported beside him.

“You coming?” Keith called back into the pod.

Krolia nodded, sliding out and looking up at the house.

“It’s… impressive,” she said as Keith pulled out their luggage.

Keith could understand her hesitance. This was Lance’s family home; sure it wasn’t the original old building, but it was still their home—the territory of Lance’s family pack. It wasn’t unusual for people to have multiple packs, and Keith wasn’t worried he wasn’t welcome in their territory, he just couldn’t stop the slight nervousness in the back of his mind.

Before he could dwell too long, the door was flung open and Lance’s mama stood in the doorway, a huge and familiar smile on her face. Somehow, all her kids had inherited her smile.

“Keith!” she called, “It’s good to see you.”

Keith smiled, walking towards her. “Good to see you too,” he said as she pulled him into a hug, “This is my mother, Krolia.” He gestured to Krolia, who was hovering behind him.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Lance’s mama said brightly, “Well, come on in you three.”

She led them into the house. Looking up the stairs, she shouted some rapid Spanish up to the second floor—Keith caught Lance’s name somewhere in there. There was the sound of footsteps down the stairs and several heads peered over the banisters.

“Hey, Keith,” Lance’s siblings shouted down at him.

“Good to see you,” Veronica greeted, “Hello, Krolia, I didn’t know you were coming!”

“It was, ah, a last-minute decision,” Krolia replied, smiling weakly.

“Keith! Krolia!” Lance shouted suddenly, sprinting down the stairs, “Hey!”

“Hi,” Keith said, laughing as Lance wrapped him in his arms, pressing kisses to Keith’s cheeks.

“Lance,” his mama said, “Show Keith and Krolia to where they’ll be staying.”

“Oh yeah, of course,” Lance said, grabbing their luggage, “This way.”

He led them upstairs, dropping Krolia off in one of the guest rooms before continuing up to the third floor.

“We managed to salvage some things from the ruins,” Lance said, taking Keith’s free hand, “It’s not quite the same, but it’s close enough. With my whole family here, it almost feels the same.”

Keith smiled, giving Lance’s hand a squeeze. They made their way down the third-floor hallway, to a door with a small, heavily-chipped plaque that read ‘Lance.’ Pushing open the door, Lance pulled him inside.

It was about what Keith expected with Lance’s room: not particularly large, painted a light blue with most of the space taken up with furniture. There were pictures practically everywhere, with a few other souvenirs from their time in space. A TV with a console set up, knitting needles and wool scattered over the side, along with what looked like a few buttons, paper and pens. The whole place just screamed ‘Lance.’

Lance’s arm wrapped around Keith’s waist, pulling him against Lance’s chest. Resting his hands on Lance’s shoulder, Keith hummed.

“I missed you,” Lance said quietly.

“I missed you too,” Keith replied, leaning up to press their lips together.

Wrapping his arms around Keith, Lance gave him a quick squeeze.

“Come on, we should head down before your mom gets too uncomfortable,” Lance suggested, stepping back so he was just holding Keith’s hands.

“Yeah,” Keith hummed in agreement.

He was tugged out of the room, down the stairs and into the garden, where everyone was gathered. Keith couldn’t help but smile as he was greeted warmly by everyone.

****

Keith rubbed his hair dry as he wandered back from the bathroom, dressed in a loose shirt and boxers. He loved Lance’s family, but they were a bit much and always left him a little exhausted. He was happy though.

Opening the door, Keith smiled at the sight of Lance sitting up in bed, completely focused on his knitting. Making his way over, Keith slipped under the covers beside him, resting his head on Lance’s shoulder. Lance turned to look at him.

“Hey,” he said.

Keith let out a huff of a laugh. “Hi.”

“You alright?”

“Yeah, ‘m just tired,” Keith mumbled.

Lance pulled a face. “Sorry, I know we can be a bit much. We get together and it’s like we’re kids again.”

“Don’t worry,” Keith said, “I’m enjoying myself. It is so much better than being in space.”

“Oh yeah, how were the peace talks?”

Keith groaned, burying his face in Lance’s shoulder.

“That bad?” Lance laughed.

Keith rubbed his face against Lance’s shoulder, groaning. Laughing, Lance put his knitting on the bedside table, wrapping his arms around Keith.

“Well hopefully we can give you a good holiday,” he said, kissing Keith’s temple.

“It’s already great,” Keith sighed.

Clicking off his lamp, Lance slid the two of them down so they were laying. Systematically, Keith tangled Lance up in his limbs, thoroughly pinning him down to the bed. Lance laughed softly, nuzzling Keith’s hair. His hands slipped under Keith’s shirt, resting on the small of his back. Keith’s eyes slipped closed, and he snuggled, somehow, even closer.

“You comfortable?” Lance asked, laughing softly.

Keith nodded, moving to press his hand against Lance’s face. “Shush, sleeping.”

He felt Lance’s huffing laugh, then a kiss was pressed to his palm.

“Alright, night.”

“Goodnight,” Keith replied, pressing a kiss to Lance’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh...how long has it been since I've updated this series? Ho...boy that's longer than I thought
> 
> Honestly I was a little stumped on what to write for these next few instincty things so I've been focusing on a couple of other projects....that and I had a couple of mult-chaptered fics I was working on but anyway, that's not really important right now.
> 
> What is important is there's a new fic (yay!) so, I don't know if anyone is still hanging around waiting for me to update this series but if you are, here you go! And there's another one in the works that should hopefully be out much faster!
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated, hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!


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